Bidirectional transmission of influenza A virus (IAV) between pigs and people is one of the most significant, yet least understood, challenges facing the swine industry and public health. Properly sanitizing hands is crucial to prevent disease transmission. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of four hand sanitation protocols in decreasing or removing IAV from hands in an experimentally IAV infected pig setting: a) hand washing with soap and water, b) hand washing with water only, c) hand sanitizing with alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and d) wearing gloves. We also evaluated IAV viability on hands for up to 120 minutes after handling IAV-infected pigs. Directly after handling infected pigs, hands of all participants were contaminated with IAV (n=84). Twenty hand samples, where IAV was detected, were selected for virus isolation and viable IAV was isolated from seven samples. IAV was detected in samples from hands at 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 120 minutes after handling IAV infected pig. However, amount of IAV decreased overtime and viable virus was only isolated from one sample from hands at 10 minutes post IAV infected pig handling. The alcohol-based hand sanitizer and wearing of gloves were the most effective treatments at reducing a larger amount of virus from hands. Hand washing with water only and washing with soap and water reduced the amount of detectable virus but did not eliminate it. Viable virus could not be recovered from any of the tested samples after the hand sanitation protocols. Overall, our results emphasize the importance of using a hand sanitation protocol to prevent the transmission of influenza between pigs and farm workers.
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